


Fighting Chance

by BurningLio



Series: The Colony [6]
Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Bad ending Au, Character Study, Genocide, Guilt, Heris has anxiety, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Self-Hatred, Worldbuilding, noncon warning to be safe - it's all offscreen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:35:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23318449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BurningLio/pseuds/BurningLio
Summary: Heris Ardebit has had enough.
Relationships: Aina Ardebit & Galo Thymos, Aina Ardebit & Heris Ardebit, Gueira/Meis (Promare), Kray Foresight/Lio Fotia (referenced), Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos (implied)
Series: The Colony [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1659124
Comments: 52
Kudos: 110





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place directly after the events involving Heris in [Public Property](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23135221). If you skipped that one due to the content warnings, the basic context: Kray left Lio tied up in a public place in the Colonial Oversight compound where they live and allowed essentially anyone to do what they wanted with him. Heris encounters him there after he's endured hours of rape and humiliation, and is utterly horrified - it seems she had no idea what was happening to him, or that he was still alive. Despite Lio's extremely hostile reaction to her, she promises to help him somehow, though she doesn't know how.
> 
> Also, this one's gonna be a two-parter, buckle in!

Heris can’t even think about meeting with the Governor, not after what she’d just seen. He wasn’t expecting her, but she hadn’t thought twice about coming here when a few questions arose among her team about changing some of the planned work assignments. Kray still makes time for her regularly, after all, showing up at her office every week for a discussion about the status of the terraforming efforts. Omega Centauri is habitable and has a breathable atmosphere, which they’d known when the migration plans were finalized, but there’s still so much to be done before humanity can truly thrive outside the enclosed environments of Colonial Oversight and the research complex where she lives. The thin atmosphere, breathable but tiring, is only one problem. There’s the biosphere to worry about, for one thing - getting the soil into a state where edible plants can be cultivated, testing the native flora and fauna to determine whether it’s safe, inoculating the human population against alien microbes they have no defenses against… It’s exhausting work, and in a different situation Heris would be thriving on it. As it is, it’s an escape, and she’s thought of almost nothing else for the past year. It keeps her from thinking about anything else, like the fact that Aina still refuses to see her or speak to her, like the horrors of that engine she’d helped build with her own hands. This colony is built on corpses and she only sleeps well on the nights she’s too exhausted to dwell on that.

This, though. This speaks of something rotten at the core of Omega Centauri, something even worse than the attempted genocide she’d believed was their only option in the face of total extinction. There is no doubt that Kray has intentionally hidden this from her - her visits to Colonial Oversight were always scheduled in advance, and it would have been easy for him to ensure Lio was always out of sight when she was there. And within Oversight… it’s clear that Lio’s presence, his existence as some kind of plaything, is no secret. She overhears a couple of security officers joking about it as she passes them in a corridor, and the way they talk about Lio makes her want to be sick.

She has never been a good liar. She can’t meet with Kray and pretend everything is normal after what she just saw. And if he suspects that _she_ did see… Kray Foresight has always frightened her a little, even though he’s never been anything but kind to her. Before, she chalked it up to her own ever-present anxiety, a reaction she’d have to anyone with such an imposing presence. Now, after everything that happened as they left Earth, and _especially_ after what she just saw… she knows better. And there’s nowhere for her to run.

Heris leaves Oversight without seeking him out, goes straight back to her apartment in the research complex and shuts herself in her room. She’ll make her excuses to the rest of her team later - right now, she doesn’t want to see anyone. There’s only one person she trusts enough to talk to about this, but that does her no good, because Aina will refuse to see her. Heris can’t blame her, really. What she’s done is unforgivable. But she can’t help missing her sister, especially at a time like this. Heris might have been the favorite when their parents were still alive, the prodigy, but Aina has always been the strong one, the brave one. She’d been scared stiff when her little sister announced her intention to become a firefighter - and to join Burning Rescue, of all the possible divisions, where the mortality rate was terrifyingly high. But Aina’s convictions would never have allowed her to do anything else. Heris couldn’t discourage her, despite her fears, and she’d been so proud when Aina achieved her dream of getting certified as a rescue pilot. 

She could use some of Aina’s strength right now, her moral clarity. But of course those qualities are exactly why she never wants to see Heris again.

Something else occurs to her then, and Heris sits up in her bed, drawing her knees to her chest. Aina won’t talk to her. But maybe she’s not the _only_ person Heris can trust.

—

The decision to open the Parnassus to more than the chosen 10,000 was supposedly a last-minute one, which is supposed to explain the living conditions outside the permanent compounds. Heris has her doubts. The prefabricated habitation units are certainly small and crowded, and they lend the settlement a sense of incompleteness, encouraging the rank and file of Omega Centauri citizens to work hard on the terraforming and construction efforts. But it’s an overly convenient explanation, one that doesn’t account for how the Foresight Foundation was able to gather enough resources to support nearly the entire population of Promepolis on such short notice, or how long it must have taken to construct so many hab units that were supposedly only going to be needed in an emergency. It is, Heris suspects, another way to make Kray look magnanimous and heroic in the eyes of the public, the idea that he risked everything to save as many people as possible. In reality, she is fairly certain he opened up the Parnassus only because he needed a larger work force. No one expected so many Burnish to survive, after all. And any society as luxurious as the one Kray intends to build is in need of an underclass, expendables to do the heavy lifting.

Not that that’s how he phrases it, of course. Kray’s regular speeches to the people of Omega Centauri are meant to make them feel important, valued parts of an equal community effort to build humanity’s new world. She has a feeling that a lot of people actually believe him - he was quite popular back on Earth. If anyone else has their doubts, they - like herself - have kept it to themselves. It’s not like there’s much anyone can do about it.

The opening of the Parnassus meant that Aina boarded with her rescue team, not with Heris. It may have saved her life. And it certainly saved the life of Galo Thymos, who’d been brought on board with them, unconscious and injured after a violent confrontation with Kray. There had apparently been a rather vicious argument with Vulcan about it when they tried to board; he was already running security on the Parnassus, and already inclined to make things difficult for anyone associated with Galo or the Burning Rescue captain. But Aina’s presence as a pre-approved passenger kept him from denying her, and she’d stood her ground and refused to board unless the rest of her team was with her. He’d eventually had to relent and let them through, unwilling to be the reason why a passenger with Kray Foresight’s signature on her permit had been denied entry.

Kray has to be aware of what had happened, but he’s never once mentioned it in Heris’s presence. For whatever reason, in the end, he decided that killing Galo or leaving him to die was not worth the effort, or perhaps not worth the disruption it would cause. Heris is grateful for that, even if she doesn’t understand his reasons. She doesn’t know Galo well, but he’s her sister’s best friend. For a long time, Aina and Heris were all the other had - and while it hurts, a little, that that’s no longer true, she is at least glad that Aina does not have to be alone without Heris in her life. And Galo, from what Heris knows of him, is as trustworthy and straightforward as they come.

Most importantly, he knew Lio Fotia. He knew, in the end, what Kray had been trying to do, and he’d tried to stop it. There is probably nothing he can realistically do to help her, but he needs to know what she saw.

She’s never been to the part of the settlement where Aina’s team lives, but it doesn’t take long to track down their whereabouts with her elevated access to the colony’s databases. The orderly rows of habs for the colony’s working class all look much the same, so she loads a GPS-generated map to her tablet and sets off. The security detachment at the entrance to the research complex doesn’t even glance at her as she leaves for the second time that day. Her position allows her considerable freedom, something she normally doesn’t take advantage of. Now, though, she’s grateful. Not everyone has clearance to visit the outdoor parts of the settlement whenever they choose. The only place she can’t go is the Burnish work camp, which is restricted to all but security personnel. The governor claims this is for everyone’s safety. Now, Heris can’t help wondering what else he’s hiding.

Walking through the rows of hab units is like stepping into a refugee camp. It’s a far cry from the comfortable accommodations and state-of-the-art facilities within the research complex. There’s nothing growing yet in this area; they’d stripped the ground of vegetation before building, since nobody had known what was safe for human contact. Dusty paths have been worn into the ground between the rows of units, forming a dirt grid that’s like a strange, primitive echo of the carefully-planned streets of Promepolis. She passes a few people on her way, all on foot - powered vehicles are not commonly available, yet - and for the most part they’re friendly, smiling at her or raising a hand in greeting. She wishes they wouldn’t, tries to avoid their eyes. They wouldn’t smile like that if they knew who she was.

The hab unit shared by the Burning Rescue team looks much like the others, though like many of the other units there have been attempts to make it look more like a home. Someone’s hung curtains in one of the windows, patched together from worn-out clothing. There’s a tattered flag next to the door that bears the Promepolis city seal, something that someone must have brought from Earth. The sight brings a lump to Heris’s throat, and she looks away.

She steels herself, and then pounds on the metal door with her fist, hoping someone is here. For a moment, there’s silence, but then she hears footsteps and the door swings open. It’s Galo who answers, and she is both relieved and disappointed that it isn’t Aina. His usually expressive face goes stony and cold when he sees her.

“She doesn’t want to see you,” he says shortly, and moves to shut the door, but Heris puts her hand out to hold it open.

“That’s okay,” she says, despite the slight quaver in her voice. “I’m… not here to talk to Aina. I need to talk to you, Galo.”

“Why?” Galo says bluntly. “I’m Aina’s friend, not yours. You’ve gotta know I’m on her side here.”

“It’s… it’s about Lio Fotia.”

Galo’s reaction to the name is instantaneous, as if he’s been physically struck. He tenses, clenching his jaw, something dark and raw stealing into his expression. “Lio is dead.”

“No,” Heris whispers. “He’s not.”

Galo stares at her a long moment more, his expression unreadable and his jaw tight. Finally, just when Heris is sure he’s about to slam the door in her face, he steps outside and shuts the door behind him. “Let’s take a walk,” he says shortly. “I don’t want Aina coming back and finding you here.”

It’s honestly more than Heris expected, so she nods, though she still feels a little pang as they turn away from the tiny housing unit. She _didn’t_ come here expecting to see Aina. She didn’t. But seeing the hab where she lives… Heris knew that the emergency housing for the rest of the colony was cramped, but she still can’t quite fathom the fact that this small structure houses _six people._ And Aina chose this life over Heris’s modest but comfortable apartment in the terraforming complex. Over Heris.

Shaking it off, she follows Galo as he strides purposefully down the dusty road, apparently having some destination in mind already. Her own apartment would probably give them the most privacy, but she can’t risk bringing him back there, not with the security checkpoints at the entrances to every permanent structure in the colony. Even in the unlikely event that he was allowed in, Kray would be certain to find out that she met with him. That’s a thought that still terrifies her.

Galo doesn’t speak, and Heris watches his back as they leave the rows of habs behind, the tension in his posture. She only met Galo a couple of times before that disastrous day in the control room, but the comparison between then and now is like night and day. He’d been loud and cocky and boisterous, self-confident in a way that would have been obnoxious if he hadn’t been so sincere and good-natured. She’d liked him, even if he was the sort of person whose presence tended to drown out Heris’s; he’d talked at her relentlessly about his and Aina’s successes for a few minutes before rushing off to test something with the team’s tech specialist. It was like getting caught in a very friendly whirlwind.

Now, though - she can barely recognize him. The man is like a wall, tense and sullen and completely implacable. He sets a quick pace as they make their way to the edge of the settlement, letting out some restless energy simmering beneath the surface, and Heris can barely keep up with him. She regrets not changing out of the pumps she usually wears to work, which are a poor choice of footwear on the uneven dirt paths. Galo doesn’t say a word to her until they’ve passed the last row of hab units, far enough out that they’ve crossed into a stand of native vegetation. It’s not an area that’s being developed yet, and Heris gets more nervous as they leave the settlement behind. Civilians aren’t really supposed to go out this far.

“Um… Galo?”

He stops, finally, and turns around to face her. His expression hasn’t changed. “I come out here when I need some time alone,” he says. “No one’ll bother us. Don’t worry, it’s safe, even if the surveyors haven’t made it out here yet.” He falls silent for a couple minutes, and Heris realizes belatedly that he’s waiting for her to speak. “Well?” he prompts, impatient. “What do you want?”

It’s clear that Galo hasn’t forgiven her any more than Aina has, but at least they’re talking. That’s all she needs. She takes a deep breath. “Lio Fotia is alive.”

Galo clenches his fists. “Don’t _lie_ to me,” he says softly. “I know what happened to him. You should know better than I do that he can’t have survived that. He was already dying when I—” He stops short, takes a deep breath. “You already have my attention. What do you really want?”

“Galo, I’m not lying,” Heris whispers. “He’s alive. He’s in Oversight, he’s not with the rest of the Burnish survivors. I had no idea until earlier today.”

A flicker of something crosses Galo’s face, his eyes narrowing, and Heris desperately hopes that she’s getting through. “How?” he demands.

“I- I don’t know. I don’t think I’m supposed to know. I’m - I’m sorry, I know I’m the last person you want to hear this from, but I don’t have anyone else I could trust. He’s in trouble, Galo. He needs help.”

Galo’s silent for a painfully long moment. Finally, he crosses his arms across his chest and meets her eyes, and Heris can see a crack in his closed-off facade. _Hope,_ though he’s struggling not to show it. “Tell me.”

So she does. Heris can’t meet his eyes as she resolutely describes what she witnessed in as much detail as she can stomach - Lio Fotia, chained and naked in one of the highest-traffic public spaces within the Oversight compound. He’d been raped, brutalized, his thighs streaked with blood and… other fluids, his face and hair wet and sticky. There’d been tears drying on his face, cutting damp tracks through the mess, though he hadn’t been crying when he met her eyes. He’d _burned,_ every inch of him bristling with hostility and fury.

She still can’t get the look in his eyes out of her head.

It’s as if she can’t stop speaking once she’s started, and there’s some relief in letting the disturbing event spill out of her, like lancing a boil. But she’s starting to babble, not really giving useful information, so she cuts herself off after explaining that she’d tried to at least help clean him off, that he’d refused her help with what little freedom of movement he had. She looks up at Galo and can’t see the look on his face clearly because he’s blurred and shifting. She’s not sure when she started crying again.

Galo doesn’t speak right away, instead turns and slams his fist into the broad, greenish trunk of one of the local tree analogues. It shakes, and as Heris wipes her eyes and settles her glasses into place she notices the stem is a little bent. It’s clearly not the first time Galo took out his anger on the local plant life. When he turns back to her, the emotionless mask has broken entirely, and the look on his face scares her a little: it’s fury, and grief, and despair.

“He’s been there, treated like that?” Galo says hoarsely, his voice shaking. “All this time?”

Heris nods helplessly, her lips pressed together. “I don’t know… what all has happened to him. But it seemed like people were- were used to seeing him.” She swallows. “I heard one of the security officers calling him _Foresight’s pet,_ ” she adds, her voice barely above a whisper.

Galo flinches visibly at the name, and Heris bites back the urge to apologize. She can’t imagine how hard it’s been for him, learning what Kray’s really like; it was devastating for _her,_ and she’s never been nearly as close to the man. To Heris, he was a distant but kindly boss and mentor, but to Galo… Aina had said Kray was the closest thing Galo had to a father after his parents were killed. She winces.

He must, she thinks, be feeling much like how Aina now feels about her.

“Do you know where he’s keeping him?” Galo says shortly. He’s tense, anger beginning to overtake the grief in his expression.

“No,” Heris whispers. “I don’t - he _can’t_ be kept like that in the atrium all the time. I’ve never seen him there before. He could be in Kray’s apartments, or someone else’s, or even the Burnish compound, I’ve never been allowed in…”

“I see.” Abruptly, Galo turns away from her and starts walking back to the settlement. He gives no indication of whether he wants Heris to come with him, but she follows him anyway, unsure what else to do.

“Galo, please, wait—”

He rounds on her, furious, and she flinches back. “ _Why?_ ” he snaps. “You’ve done enough! You told me what I needed to know, so now get out of my way!” Heris stares at him, stunned. Galo keeps going, seemingly unable to stop, lashing out at her with his words in much the same way that he’d pummeled that plant earlier. “You had a _thousand_ chances to stop this before we got here, and you didn’t take _one_ of them, even though you _knew!_ You knew all along how many people we were sending to their deaths! Aina hates you, and she’s _right!_ ” His chest is heaving, and Heris is startled to see tears in the corners of his eyes. “And _Lio Fotia,_ ” he spits, as if the name is an accusation. “The _infamous arsonist._ The evil Burnish terrorist. Do you know how many lives he took, Heris?” He doesn’t wait for her to answer. “ _None._ Because the Burnish didn’t kill without reason, he told me.” Galo smiles, and it’s a horrible expression, his mouth twisted bitterly. “Even though we were slaughtering them. And _you_ helped Kray destroy everything he tried to build. You don’t- you can’t…” Galo’s voice trembles and he breaks off, furiously wiping his eyes. “You can’t just decide you’re on his side all of a sudden. Fuck that. I don’t want your help, okay?! I don’t want you anywhere _near_ him, or Aina, or me. Just leave us alone!”

The tears are falling thick and fast, now, his shoulders trembling. Heris lifts a hand to reach for him, then lets it drop, thinking better of it. “You’re right,” she says quietly. “You’re right about everything. No matter what I say, it’s not enough to make up for what I did. I _know._ But… Galo, please. Let me help make one thing right.” She dares to look up, and Galo is watching her, uncertain. “The governor still trusts me. I’m able to move freely, almost anywhere in the colony. I can help you set Lio free. And… I can help you take Kray Foresight down.” Galo’s expression no longer seems quite so forbidding, and she presses on, hoping she’s getting through. “When this is over, you’ll never have to see me again. I swear. Just - just let me help him.” Her voice cracks. “He didn’t deserve this. None of them did.”

There’s a long, tense silence. Then Galo nods jerkily. “Fine. We finish this, and that’s it.”

“You have my word.”

They continue walking back to the settlement in silence, Galo’s pace far slower than it had been on their way out. His shoulders are hunched, his arms folded across his chest, and Heris can’t begin to guess at what he’s thinking now. Not far from the Burning Rescue hab, he stops short again, and Heris almost runs into his back.

“If we’re doing this,” he says softly, “then you should know there’s only one way I’m gonna let it end.”

“What?”

Galo looks over his shoulder at her, and the incongruously calm expression on his face chills her to the bone. “I’m going to kill Kray Foresight.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lio's few remaining allies begin to make their plans.

It takes nearly a week for Galo to put his plan into motion. Truthfully, it barely qualifies as a plan, but it’s the best anyone can come up with right now - they just don’t have enough information. Heris sends the data Galo requested in hidden, encrypted bursts, disguised as messages to her sister. Aina transmits the packets to Lucia’s personal console and then deletes the plaintext letters unread. Galo sees her do it once, and she shoots him a defensive look.

“It’s more believable, if anyone’s tracking my actions,” she snaps.

“I wasn’t going to say anything.”

Aina sighs, and her expression softens as she looks up at him. “Are you really sure about this, Galo?”

He feels himself tense. “More than _anything._ ”

“I don’t mean it like that, just…” Aina swallows hard. “Are you sure you can really trust my sister?”

Galo looks down. “I guess not,” he says quietly. “But Aina, I don’t care. I’ve spent too long doing nothing. I… I gave up on him, and he’s needed help all this time—”

Aina sets aside her tablet and seizes his shoulders in both her hands, staring up into his eyes. “ _It’s not your fault._ ” It’s far from the first time she’s said those words to him, glaring at him as if she can make him believe it through sheer willpower. “You didn’t know. You _couldn’t_ have known.”

“I know. I know. Just…”

Aina sighs. “Yeah. I get it.” She leans forward, tiredly resting her head against his chest. “Just don’t do anything stupid, okay? I can’t lose you too.”

Galo opens his mouth to agree, then shuts it again. He can’t promise her that in good conscience. She has to know that. Instead he sighs, tries to laugh. “You know me. I’m always doing something stupid.”

“ _Galo._ ”

“…I’ll try.”

When Lucia has everything decrypted, she calls Galo into the room she shares with Varys. Most of Lucia’s half of the tiny space is filled with tech she brought from Earth, or else scavenged or wheedled the requisition officer into giving her. Galo honestly doesn’t know where she sleeps. She’s perched in a nest of wires now, the flickering screen in front of her displaying the schematics put together from the data Heris sent. “Okay, Galo, pay attention,” she says as he walks in, still staring up at the screen. “I can get you in, but you’re not gonna have much time. An hour, max. After that, their systems are gonna reinitialize and you’ll be locked in. Got it?”

Galo nods, leaning over her shoulder to study the schematics. It’s a detailed plan of the Burnish compound, including every entrance and utility conduit that Heris was able to find in the colony’s building plans. Lucia has zeroed in on a drainage grate on the side of the compound farthest from the Oversight building. It’s hard to tell how big it is from the diagrams on the screen, but it looks significantly smaller than all the official entrances to the area. He frowns.

“Will I be able to fit through there?”

“Eh, it’s a squeeze, but I think you can manage. And!” She rifles through a toolbox within arm’s reach, pulls out a power screwdriver, and tosses it to Galo. “I can disable the security measures on the perimeter, but you’ll have to get the grate loose yourself. I don’t think they welded it in, you should be fine.” She shakes her head. “Shoddy workmanship, naturally.”

Galo looks down at it, frowning. “Any information on what I’ll find inside?”

“Not much. Looks like the housing for the Burnish is over here.” She gestures at the map. “But Heris didn’t send any records on who lives where. Really, I doubt those kinds of records exist, considering the Burnish aren’t really citizens. You’ll have to poke around on your own. Just be careful. Don’t make too much noise, it could alert security.”

Galo nods, his mouth tight. “Right.” He knows how unlikely it is that he’ll find Lio, considering Heris seemed to think he must be kept in the Oversight compound itself, but a small part of him can’t help hoping all the same. And if he doesn’t… he knows so little about how Lio had organized the Burnish under his command. There’s the two generals he arrested with Lio so long ago, back on Earth, but while he thinks he can recognize them he’s not sure what he’ll do if he doesn’t find them. He has no way of knowing who might be able to help him, or who’d be willing. It’s unlikely, honestly, that any of them will want to talk to him at all.

But… he has to take this one step at a time. It’ll be astronomically easier to break into the Burnish compound compared to Colonial Oversight, and even if Lio isn’t there, he needs more information on what’s happened to the Burnish before he can do anything to help him. Every little bit helps, at least that’s what he keeps telling himself. It’s better than admitting to himself that if he doesn’t do something, _anything,_ he is going to break.

“You’re sure about going in there alone?” Galo turns to see Aina leaning in the doorway, looking tired. Lucia chimes in before he can answer.

“It’s much less risky this way. Less chance of attracting notice if something goes wrong.”

Galo nods, oddly relieved that he doesn’t have to explain. She’s right, of course, but there’s something else too, the vague idea that if Lio is in there, he wants to be alone when he finds him. He doesn’t know how to explain that, or if he even should.

Aina sighs. “I wasn’t expecting a different answer, really, but… I had to ask.” She locks eyes with Galo, brow furrowed. “Good luck. I hope you find him.”

“Me too,” Galo says softly. They clasp hands briefly as he passes her in the doorway, and then he’s gone.

Even the lowliest of workers on Omega Centauri has been given a navigation and communication beacon. It’s a matter of safety on a largely uncharted planet where only a small fraction has been settled and cleared of any danger. All Lucia had to do was upload her schematics to Galo’s wrist unit, after resetting the firmware to clear Galo’s IDs and blocking outgoing location signals. Nobody is quite sure if Oversight really does trace everyone’s locations, but it’s a distinct possibility, and Lucia’s nothing if not thorough. All Galo has to do is check the GPS beacon on his wrist as he makes his way around the outskirts of the settlement, taking the long way toward the imposing shapes of Oversight and the Burnish compound. The clock function shows he’s making good time. He’ll be right on target for the window of time Lucia has planned to disable the security measures.

After all the buildup, getting in almost feels too easy. He’s pretty sure there’d be alarms blaring and Colonial Security waving guns in his face by now if it wasn’t for Lucia’s hack, but _still._ Galo creeps along the edge of the wall like a shadow, trying to avoid the spotlights shining down into the compound from the wall above. There are probably guards up there even now, but it doesn’t seem like it will be difficult to avoid getting spotted. Heris is certain that the guards must be getting lax, especially overnight, after so long without an incident. The Burnish haven’t tried anything since they arrived at the colony - no fires, no fights, no attempts to break free. According to Kray, they don’t need to, because they’re being treated well - simply kept apart for everyone’s safety.

It’s suspicious as hell, in other words, and Galo’s angry at himself for not wondering about it before. There’s got to be some former Mad Burnish among their numbers, after all, and none of Lio’s people seemed the type to go down without a fight.

Like the settlement outside, the ground in the compound is bare dirt. The main gate is a large overhead door, big enough to admit the Colonial Security tanks. Aside from a few water spigots, empty kiosks, and clusters of the same kind of hab units that the civilians live in outside, there’s not much here. It’s smaller than he anticipated. Either Heris’s population estimates were wrong, or the Burnish are even more crowded than the laborers outside.

Galo makes it to one of the habs, and hesitates outside the door. He hadn’t really thought this far ahead, but now that he’s here, barging into what is essentially a dormitory while everyone sleeps feels… weird. He doesn’t want to freak them out - best case scenario, they don’t trust him and won’t talk to him. Worst case scenario, someone sets his face on fire. Neither is exactly a good outcome. While he’s still mulling it over, someone else makes his move for him - a rough hand grabs the back of his neck without warning, shoves him into the corrugated metal of the hab’s wall, and a voice growls in his ear.

“Who are you and what do you want?”

Galo puts his hands up immediately, not wanting to seem threatening. Whoever his assailant is, he’s pretty sure they’re not security, or he’d probably be on the ground with a gun on his face. And he’s also pretty sure he’s about to stake his life on that assumption.

“Galo Thymos,” he says quietly. “I’m looking for Lio Fotia. I’m on your side.”

He swears he can feel the person behind him flinch when he says Lio’s name. Before he can do anything, he’s being roughly turned around and shoved back against the wall by a man with long, dark blue hair that covers half of his face. He’s thinner, grimmer than when Galo saw him, but he recognizes him - one of Lio’s subordinates, a Mad Burnish general. He doesn’t remember his name. The man is glaring at him with suspicious ferocity, but all Galo can feel is relief. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if he couldn’t find someone who knew Lio.

“Galo Thymos,” the man repeats, skeptical. He snorts. “The idiot firefighter? The governor’s lapdog?”

Galo flinches, can’t help it. “Not anymore,” he says through gritted teeth. “I know what he did.”

The Burnish eyes him skeptically. “Sure. How’d you get in, anyway?”

“Drainage duct.” Galo glances surreptitiously at his wrist. “Listen, I don’t have much time, but I really do want to help. And I really do want to find Lio. I know you have no reason to trust me, and I’m sorry, but… please. I swear I just want to help him.”

“Why?” Sharp and to the point, the word hits Galo hard for some reason. He bites his lip.

“Because Lio’s…” He hesitates. “He’s alive,” he says quietly, his voice breaking on the word. “And he’s a prisoner somewhere, and they’re hurting him, and I need to do something.”

The Burnish stares him down a moment longer, frowning, but then slowly lets him go and takes a step back. Galo sags in relief. “I thought I saw you back there, a moment or two before the pods were activated,” the man says pensively. “Wasn’t sure I was remembering right.”

“Back… there?”

“In the engine. You tried to get him out, didn’t you?”

Galo’s gut twists. He tries not to think about that place, even succeeds some days, though it doesn’t stop the nightmares. Lio, screaming, fading— “I tried,” Galo says, his voice reduced to a rough whisper.

The man nods, as if this is all he needed to hear. “Come on. We’ll tell you what we can.”

Galo follows the Burnish to one of the habs, noticing as he does that he’s limping. There’s something odd about his right leg, and Galo realizes it’s a prosthetic, crude and stiff, entirely unlike the advanced metal arm Kray wears. He doesn’t remember the man missing a limb before, and wonders if it was the journey here, powering the engine, that did it.

Someone’s running up to them in the dark, and Galo tenses, but the Burnish doesn’t seem concerned. Galo recognizes the other Mad Burnish general as he gets closer, panting with exertion. He’s missing an arm, the left sleeve of his jumpsuit hanging empty. “Meis! What…” He spots Galo then, recoiling. “Wh- what’s that idiot doing here?”

“Gueira, I thought you were asleep,” says the blue-haired Burnish, Meis, almost guiltily.

“You think I’m not gonna notice you getting up in the night? C’mon.” He turns his glare on Galo again. “And you still haven’t answered my question.”

Galo finds himself raising his hands again, showing Gueira he’s unarmed. “I’m looking for Lio Fotia-”

Gueira snarls and doesn’t let him finish. “What the fuck do you want with him?”

“Gueira-” Meis limps forward, an alarmed note in his voice.

“I’m trying to help,” Galo says, struggling to keep his voice steady and trying not to sound impatient. “I swear. I—” He breaks off, realizing that Gueira’s harsh panting has only gotten worse, and he’s clutching at his chest now. “Are you okay?”

“You ran all the way here, didn’t you?” Meis snarls, reaching Gueira’s side and putting an arm around him to support him. “ _Stupid._ ”

“I couldn’t just—” Gueira’s staggering, slumping against his companion, and Galo gives up his whole slow and cautious thing and runs toward them.

“I’ve got paramedic training, I can help,” he says, watching Gueira’s labored breathing with concern.

Meis shakes his head. “No. You can’t,” he says shortly, and helps Gueira over to the wall, sitting down with him where Gueira can lean against it. “Something’s been wrong with his lungs ever since the migration. He just needs to _stop pushing himself._ ” This last is punctuated with a glare at Gueira, who seems too winded to respond just yet.

“Oh,” Galo murmurs quietly. He sits down a few feet from the two of them, crossing his legs. “I’m guessing Lio’s not here after all,” he says after a minute, trying and failing not to let the disappointment pierce him. _You knew it wasn’t gonna be this easy,_ he tries to remind himself, but it’s impossible not to feel let down.

“That _bastard_ Foresight is keeping him as a… a pet or something,” Gueira spits, getting his breath back enough to speak now that he’s still. “He brings him through here every so often, just to make sure we all know not to try anything. Never lets us get close, either.”

Meis nods, a dark expression on his face. “I’m not sure he knows we’re alive. But I think Foresight keeps him close.” Meis looks at Galo, studies his face. “Something happened, huh?” There’s an edge to his voice, and Galo notices he’s holding Gueira’s wrist tightly, knuckles white.

“I thought he was dead,” Galo says quietly. “I just found out last week that he’s alive, and he’s…” He hesitates, not sure what to say. The image forming in his mind of Lio’s situation is a dark one. He doesn’t want to say it out loud, like that would make it real. “ _Foresight’s pet,_ ” he spits, forcing himself to say Kray’s name without flinching. “She said they were calling him that in Oversight, too.”

Gueira clenches his fist. “Foresight always drags him along on a leash when he comes to inspect the compound. No one’s ever heard Boss speak when he’s here, he doesn’t even _look_ at anyone. And he’s never wearing any clothes, just that fucking collar.”

It fits, horribly, with the picture forming in Galo’s mind, and his heart clenches. But then, Heris said he’d snarled at her, glared at her with fire in his eyes. Surely he wasn’t completely broken yet. He couldn’t be. Not Lio. Galo desperately hoped Lio could hold out just a little while longer, until he could figure out how to get to him. “So I guess _he’s_ the reason no one’s started any fires,” Galo says, frowning. “With this many of you, I’m sure you could burn your way out if you tried, right?”

“He’s not the only reason,” Meis says grimly. He holds out his hand, palm up as if he’s about to summon a flame, then clenches it into a fist when nothing happens. “We can’t reach our fire here. I don’t know if it’s this place or if that machine just… took it all. I can still feel it! We still regenerate, just… slower. But no matter how hard we try… not even a spark.”

“Oh!” Galo sits up straighter. “I bet it’s those Pro-things… the ones the old guy was talking about…”

Gueira and Meis both stare at him. “What?”

He snaps his fingers, ignoring them. “Promare! They’re probably still inside the Earth, right? Or… or whatever’s left of it by now…” Galo tries not to think about that, shakes off the unpleasant mental images of the planetary catastrophe they’d left behind. “That old scientist guy told me and Lio and Aina about it. There were these alien life forms living in the Earth’s core. I guess that was where the Burnish fire came from? Some people could sync up with them, and…” He claps his hands together. “ _Boom._ ”

The two Burnish look at each other, their eyes widening. “Boss always did say he felt like the flames were alive,” Gueira murmurs. “Like they were calling to him.”

“They must still be there. They can’t hear you anymore, we’re too far away.” Galo frowns. “Dammit. I thought for sure we could come up with some way to overwhelm Security if we worked together, but if you can’t set fires…”

“Even if we could, you weren’t… _wrong_ about Boss being a hostage,” Meis says uneasily. “I know he’s gonna take the heat if any of us try anything.”

“Probably the other way around, too,” Galo murmurs. “There’s no way Lio would’ve given in without a fight, not unless he had a really good reason.” He sighs, running his hands back through his hair in irritation, scratching at his scalp. “There has to be a way. I’m not gonna abandon him. Not after everything he’s been through.”

Gueira and Meis look at each other, nod slightly, then look back at him. “If you’re gonna try and get him out of there, then we’re with you,” Gueira says firmly. “Though I don’t know what we’re gonna be able to do. They have us locked down pretty tight in here.”

“If we can just coordinate…” Galo glances at his wrist. “Shit. I’m almost out of time. Look - if I leave this here, can you keep it hidden? We can keep in contact. Make plans.”

Meis’s eyes widen. “I… yeah. They’ve never searched our living quarters. It’s not like there’s ever been any way for us to have contraband. We can do that.”

Galo nods, taking the nav unit off of his wrist and handing it to the Burnish general. “Then I’ll be in touch. I’m sure Lucia can get me in again if I need to. Just… be careful.” He pauses, swallowing hard, and looks away. “And I’m - I’m sorry. For not saving him before. For all of this.”

To his surprise, Meis reaches out and claps him on the shoulder, a hard, ruthless smile on his face. “You get Boss out of that hellhole, and we’ll call it even.”

Galo nods, his jaw tight. “I’m not leaving him. Not ever again.”


End file.
